DANCING to Glenn Miller may not be the most normal thing for most 10-year-olds but for one day pupils from a junior school got the chance to copy their grandparents.

Year five pupils from Lodge Hill Junior School, Caerleon, were given a taster of what life was like through World War Two during their VE day celebrations.

The all-day party was the culmination of a class project that had engrossed pupils since Easter.

The term-long project was designed to inform them about the war and the hardships people had to endure coping with food rationing and the constant threat of air raids. Throughout the day children sang popular songs from the era, were put through a marching drill, and took part in an old fashioned dancing competition.

Children wore wartime fashions and carried gas masks. Mrs Carole Beagen, a year five teacher at the school, said: "The children were fantastic and the costumes were brilliant.

"We couldn't have asked for more and everyone thoroughly enjoyed the day. "The whole day went off a treat and it was very successful."

Teachers and canteen staff also dressed in the fashions of the forties. During the morning pupils sang wartime anthems such as Vera Lynn's We'll Meet Again, had a jiving competition, and listened to stories of the war from a veteran of the conflict. Eric Cross, a despatch rider in the war for the Royal Engineers, stopped by and captivated his young audience with his recollections.

For lunch, children brought in the sort of food that would have been around in wartime Britain and ate cakes made by their parents using old- fashioned recipes. After a street party in the afternoon, children sang and danced for parents in a concert that lasted until the end of the day.

Nic Saunders, also a year five teacher at the school, said: "Learning about WW2 really hit home with the children and it made them to talk to their grandparents and ask questions about their experiences.

"Without studying the subject, the children may never have realised exactly what their grandparents went through then."

*PICTURED: Chatting to war veteran Eric Cross at the street party are, left to right, Natalie Phillips, Francesca Stevens, Mustapha Rashid and Sophie Dutton